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In this unsettled world, it’s important to treasure all your feel good moments.

That’s the mentality members of Akron, Ohio, band DRUMMER apply to their music and lives. As the frigid winter kept their state tightly in its grasp this past February, the five musicians of Drummer - including Patrick Carney, drummer for critically acclaimed band the Black Keys - set out in the settings of Carney’s basement to renew old friendships and have a good time making music.

One-man band Reverend Eddie Danger tackles the Five Favorites challenge
by John NoydJanuary 2015

Carefree and upbeat, the chipper singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, live looper and ordained minister Eddie Danger is a constant beacon of entertaining goodwill on the Midwest folk circuit. A grade-school sax player who got kicked out of his high school jazz band, the Reverend reintroduced himself to music when he attended a Grateful Dead concert at eighteen and started participating in drum circles. Decades into his journey, the sunshine shaman has amassed an eclectic collection of international instruments and a lifetime’s worth of tall tales. A creative dynamo, Danger’s eleventh studio effort, last year’s naturally affable, “If and When,” showcases his versatility at various strings, keyboards, percussion and woodwinds; peppering his casual folk-blues ballads with colorful characters and true-life experiences to conjure a friendly intimacy that bolsters the spirit and warms the soul. We caught up with the mellow minstrel and asked him about a few of his favorite things.

MAXIMUM INK: Do you have a favorite album from your childhood?
EDDIE DANGER: The first cassette tape I owned was the Ghostbusters soundtrack. I was really into They Might Be Giants in my younger days. I grew up in the birthplace of emo music and never really fit in there.

MI: What’s your favorite local venue that no longer exists?
ED: Feel Good Music & Art Festival in Amherst, WI from 2004-2010.

MI: Do you have a favorite author whose voice has informed your songs?
ED: Reading is one of my biggest sources for lyrical content. I’m currently reading Occult Science by Rudolf Steiner (the father of Waldorf Education & Biodynamic Farming). I just wrote a song that was inspired by my evolutionary astrology report from Ryan Evans. My song “Shipwrecked” was written after I read the book Life of Pi.

MI: Where’s your favorite place to get away from it all?
ED: I practice Kriya Yoga and Meditation twice a day. The best escape is to still your mind and stretch your spine. Meditation allows me to dial into the creative energy flowing everywhere.

Catch Eddie in February where he wraps up dates with the Steel City Jug Slammer Tour, plays The Root Note in LaCrosse on the 11th, a Mardi Gras show at Madison’s Up North Pub on the 17th and finishes up the month at the Historic Trempealeau Hotel on the 28th. For more information click onto www.eddiedanger.com

Six decades. That is the span through which Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona) was a rock‘n’ roll professional. With his death last month on May 16, an incredible music career ended. Dio was best known for his work in heavy metal, and in fact he became a cultural icon – one often steeped in humor – for the exaggerated posturing and fantastical lyrics that are a rich part of the genre. His introduction of the “metal horns” hand sign cemented it. To be sure, Dio immersed himself in such things, but it’s interesting to note that his musical career actually took him through several rock‘n’roll genres.

In 1958, a band from upstate New York called Ronnie And The Red Caps released their first 7-inch single on a small label called Reb Records. They could be described as a doo-wop group. Ronnie James Dio was the singer of that band, and the vinyl single began his professional recording career. Dio went on to form a group called Elf that also garnered a recording deal. That band, which had their first release in the late sixties, could be best described as boogie rock. But Dio’s strong voice set the group apart from many of the hippie bands of the time, lending a power to the band that was unusual.

An Illinois native whose star is on the rise in the Milwaukee blues scene, lead guitarist and frontwoman, Sue DaBaco came to southeastern Wisconsin a decade ago after playing in Chicago’s Buzz Kilman And The All Bubba Blues Band for years. She solidified the lineup of her band, WISE FOOLS, four years ago with Scott Walters on bass and Darrel Douglas on drums. A power trio that started off as primarily blues but has “morphed into a progressive rock-blues thing”, according to DaBaco.

Raised on the still-ubiquitous 70’s rock sound of bands like Fleetwood Mac, Rush, and Heart, DaBaco says Jimi Hendrix is still her favorite, but she also incorporates influences like Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Sonny Landreth. WISE FOOLS has been performing regularly throughout Wisconsin, being an annual Summerfest favorite, and even opening up for big classic rock names like Peter Frampton, Eddie Money, and Jefferson Starship, along with more straight-up blues musicians like Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

With a spirit and sound recalling the halcyon days of BOB DYLAN and ARLO GUTHRIE, Madison guitarist and vocalist TEDDY DAVENPORT is playing earnest honest-to-goodness classic acoustic American Folk music. His new EP is called *Middle of A Miracle* and he’ll be releasing it at Door Creek Church on December 12th supported by Krause Family Band, Madison Malone, and Tyler Preston. We took a minute to talk to him about his new release, his inspirations and the upcoming show.

“Music is my first love, it’s my best friend. Music has literally saved my life.”

Teddy Davenport’s past is the kind of story you often hear about in songs. But for his first full-length album, Teddy took control of his life, and decided to share large parts of it through some of the best music being released in late 2017. Teddy’s also lost and gained during the writing process, and as you’ll learn from our Q and A, he isn’t shy sharing it. Luckily, he’s also talking about the future, and a time when we’ll be able to say, “We knew him when…”

So, for now, enjoy Teddy and his new album which is being released with his band, Teddy Davenport and The Cushions at Harmony Bar in Madison on Friday, December 8, 2017. There’s also a Toys for Tots Fundraiser show at the VFW in Monona on Sunday, December 10, 2017, at 1:30 pm.

You’ll also find him on Facebook, Instagram, twitter, and his website: teddydavenport.com

Influenced by farm life and bands such as The Flying Burrito Brothers, Little Feat and Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Driveway Thriftdwellers sound like a meld of classic bluegrass country fusion and garage music from the 60s and 70s